If Washington were a rational place, a major measure to rebuild roads, bridges, ports and airports would be a slam-dunk. Few doubt the need. The U.S. has underinvested in infrastructure: It was ranked 12th in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-2015. Road repair needs are pervasive, a quarter of bridges require upgrades, the fast-rail system falls further behind other countries every year. There is a broad consensus that infrastructure investment is a significant job-creator. It is embraced by the Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and many governors and mayors of both parties. Republican congressional leaders want selective big accomplishments to prove...

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If Washington were a rational place, a major measure to rebuild roads, bridges, ports and airports would be a slam-dunk.
Few doubt the need. The U.S. has underinvested in infrastructure: It was ranked 12th in the World Economic Forum's Global...

NEW YORK — New Yorkers can look forward to an early spring, as Staten Island Chuck did not see his shadow — and avoided the potentially dangerous embrace of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.But the outlook for Pennsylvania is more glum: Punxsutawney Phil,...

NEW YORK — New York City will move to the forefront of a growing environmental trend by banning food establishments from using plastic foam containers starting this summer, Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration announced Thursday.
De Blasio's mayoral ban...

NEW YORK — Work crews are scrambling underneath New York City to finish the city's first major new subway stop in 25 years, a fast-track project intended to revitalize a long-neglected slice of Manhattan.
The city's transit authority has been working for...

Sharing a taxi in New York City can be a crapshoot for riders and most efforts to encourage doubling up were left in the dust.
But with Uber announcing its starting a carpool service Thursday, there's potential to make cab sharing viable for riders who...

NEW YORK, - A restless groundhog that squirmed out of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's hands and fell to the floor at this year's Groundhog Day celebration has died, zoo officials said on Thursday.
New York has held the annual Feb. 2 Groundhog Day event...

Second Amendment absolutists complain that gun-control advocates are an out-of-touch elite seeking to destroy the way of life of real men who pack heat, pass weapons on to their sons and are a rampart against government tyranny. It's dangerous out there....

I promised in Saturday's column of cut-down fireworks comments to use more complete versions of readers' reactions here on the blog. I'll do that today and Thursday, sandwiched around Wednesday's "What Is It" reveal. In case you haven't seen the ...

On the eve of the six-month anniversary of the Sandy Hook murders, Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey issued a statement reaffirming his support for expanding background checks on firearms sales and said he hopes the Senate can find the votes to make...

Could Sen. Pat Toomey be the Democrats chance to get gun control legislation passed?
Reports circulated Friday afternoon that the Pennsylvania Republican is in talks with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on a bill to expand background checks...

UPDATED: Sen. Pat Toomey kept his head down as he quickly walked past a gaggle of reporters. Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who Toomey is working with on a background check compromise, sprinted past several huddled reporters, arms pumping,...

A gun control advocacy group backed by New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg began airing a television ad Thursday that thanks Sen. Pat Toomey for his work on background checks.
The Mayors Against Illegal Guns 30-second spot...

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who seems to have a million jobs these days, brushed aside - as only a politician could - a question about him serving in the Obama administration cabinet as the next U.S. Transportation Secretary.
Asked about...

All along the Eastern seaboard, places known to millions as cheery summer getaways were battered to pieces Monday by the monstrous waves and wailing winds of Hurricane Sandy.Part of Atlantic City's Boardwalk smashed into floating lumber and two people...

In New York and New Jersey, Sandy lived up to its advance billing as a once-in-a-lifetime megastorm, a deadly collision of tropical and arctic forces that hammered the coastline with mountainous waves and winds and swamped lower Manhattan with record...

The sodden, wind-blown tri-state region of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania began an arduous journey back to normal on Wednesday after mammoth storm Sandy killed at least 82 people in a rampage that swamped coastal cities and cut power to millions...

With the news breaking Tuesday morning that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is leaving the Obama administration, could a certain former Pennsylvania governor with an affinity for infrastructure be tapped to take his place?
Ed Rendell's name is a...

Pennsylvania's former governor, Ed Rendell, will be in Washington Tuesday to discuss one of his favorite topics (no, not the Philadelphia Eagles): infrastructure. Rendell testifies before the Senate Finance Committee for a hearing called "Financing 21st Centur

it's been an interesting news day for the number-one target of the obesity epidemic-fighters. First, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came out with a new plan to ban ultra-large sugary drinks. Then the Food and Drug Administration shot down a corn trade a

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to fight obesity by putting a 16-ounce limit on the size of sugary drinks has stirred controversy. It goes to the heart of a legitimate question: To what lengths should our government go ...